How I Knew

“How did you know that BDO was the right place for you?”

Deciding where you want to start your career is a big – and sometimes tough – decision. After all, this choice has the potential to affect your entire life, from where you’ll live, who you’ll meet, and the opportunities you’ll have. It’s tempting to do everything from making a list of pros and cons and asking everyone their opinion to resorting to flipping a coin to decide for you.

But before you completely stress out, it’s important to remember: everyone comes to their decision in their own way, and there really is no wrong way to decide. Some people know the second they walk into the door to their first interview, while others have an epiphany months into their first engagement. To give you some perspective on how some of our professionals made their decision, we asked them, “How did you know that BDO was the right place for you?” Here are their answers:

“I’m a very practical person, so when I was trying to decide where to start my career, I made a spreadsheet with all the pros and cons of each firm – and BDO was second. But when I came in for my office visit, I immediately knew it was the place for me. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming, and my ‘buddy’ brought me a piece of chocolate in between my interviews.”

– Brenna Stutts, Experienced Tax Associate

“I knew BDO was the right place for me because of the opportunity I was given, early on. I mentioned my interest in working with our insurance clients to my mentor, who helped make sure I was given that chance. Now, I’m the senior on two of our office’s largest clients.”

– Justin Tu, Assurance Senior Associate

“I initially decided that BDO was the perfect fit after attending Pathway to Success, but it wasn’t until nearly three years later that it truly sunk in how glad I was to be at BDO. I was at a BDO national training conference, and the woman who was my small group leader at Pathway to Success gave a great presentation. I had no idea she had become such a hot-shot! Afterwards, I went up to speak to her, and she immediately recognized me and asked how my career was going. I was really shocked – and excited – to have made such a lasting connection within the BDO family.”

– Alysa Smith, Assurance Senior Associate

“I was part of a St. Louis firm that joined BDO a few years ago. I could have left, of course, but BDO seemed like a good firm with some great opportunities, so I decided to give it a try. A few BDO professionals flew in for a day to meet all of us and answer all of our pressing questions, which immediately put me at ease. They were people I could see myself working with. I knew I made the right choice.”

– Andy Vien, Assurance Senior Associate

“I went to an accounting event in college where I got the chance to speak with people from multiple firms. I went to a few tables, introduced myself, gave my ‘elevator pitch’ for a couple of minutes, and moved on. But when I went to the BDO table, I ended up chatting with one of the professionals for 15 minutes, and I nearly forgot I was at a recruiting event. When it came time to make my decision, I chose BDO because I knew I wanted to work with those people on a daily basis.”

– Tyler Kern, Assurance Senior Associate

“I knew that BDO was the right place for me after my first big client experience. In my first year, I was put on a large real estate engagement, with no senior. Frankly, I was terrified. But throughout the three-month engagement, both the director and the senior manager on the job went out of their way to offer extra support and encouragement. I got more comfortable with the engagement – and with the client – and ended up learning a lot. It was then that I fully realized how much the firm believed in my ability, and how much my superiors were willing to champion my success. It was an awesome feeling.” 

– Emily Smith, Assurance Senior Associate